Thursday, June 25, 2009

What a sad day. Goodbye Farrah and Michael. There is so much I could say about growing up with the music of The Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson, Soul Train and American Bandstand. And everyone but me had Farrah Fawcett haircuts. I loved the show that recently aired about Farrah's battle with cancer. What a brave woman she was and so beautiful.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

This morning I worked on some tiles and some boxes. I love boxes, but they are so time consuming. And just watch, I'll fire them in my Raku kiln and they will fall apart from the thermal shock. It's a 50/50 chance with boxes even though I score and slip and add coils, boxes just have a hard time surviving. I tried to build these pretty strong, we'll see. tomorrow I'm going to get back on the wheel. I have had to rest my wrist a bit, it has been hurting a lot lately. In other news, a good friend of ours came and spent the night last night and told me about this great project he has been working on. Check out www.workofcraft.com Our firend Stewart was the photographer for the project and has put together a new book documenting the work. This new "green" construction in Asheville NC was furnished with original art from many local craftsman-pottery, furniture, everything. Do any of you know some of the artists involved? I suggested to Stewart that he put a list of the artists on the website. Anyway, check it out, it's pretty cool.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

How many of you live with two people that are exactly alike? I do. Wesley and Gerry are both musicians, both photographers, both good writers, both introverts, and on and on. They are so much alike and have such a great relationship. Like Jen Mecca, Gerry took care of Wes when she was small and I was traveling all over the country. When he couldn't, his mom and dad did. Today, for Father's Day, we went to Antioch Baptist Church near Charlotte where Gerry's dad was the guest preacher, then we went out to lunch with the family. Wesley grew up going to that church as a small child when her grandparents were keeping her and many of the people there still remembered her. Just a small country church with people that have good simple lives. Gerry's dad told the story about Jonah being swallowed by a fish, and for the life of me I still can't get my head around these "tall tales". Are they just metaphors, because there are a whole bunch of southern baptists that truly believe this fish vomited out a man after he walked about inside for three days. I just don't know..... (my mom is screaming at me right now). Gerry grew up a preacher's kid and my mom had me in church at least three times a week. We don't go to church, much to our parent's dismay, but I think we have raised a very spiritual child with a good and kind heart. Everyone loves her and enjoys being around her because of her kindness and sense of peace you get when you are with her. I like the music in church and the ritual of it, but every time I go, I leave shaking my head with so many questions. The southern church culture is a strange thing to me. Anyway, hope all the dads out there had a great day, we did! Oh the photo, Gerry and Wesley in front of the Broome Street Bar in Soho, NY. My favorite bar in the whole world! One day I want to open one just like it. (my mom is screaming again, she doesn't approve of alcohol, another one of those church things I shake my head about!) Happy Day!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

This was one of my favorite songs from Bonnaroo. Slept all day yesterday, trying to drag myself into the studio today, but all I have done so far is watch youtube videos. This is my new MTV. I remember in college when MTV first came out I was glued to the TV all the time. Now it's youtube! Good thing poor Gerry has a job, he married a flake Enjoy

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

We are back home from Bonnaroo. What a trip. I don't think I can even begin to explain what Bonnaroo is all about. You have to go there and truly experience it yourself to understand it. Bonnaroo is about the music, it's about recreational substances that I shouldn't talk about here. I will say that I thought I knew a lot, I didn't, but I do now. What an education for me as well as my sixteen year old! It's mostly about the people though. I don't like crowds, I really don't like to be around a lot of people, I am an only child and like being alone frequently. However, I just spent a week with 75,000 people and never saw an angry person, an unkind person or a thoughtless person. At Bonnaroo, I would say the majority of people attending are college students, many high most of the time, but in sort of a controlled way. If someone bumped into me or stepped on my foot, they apologized profusely. There were lots of smiles, many acts of kindness, sharing food, drinks, "recreational items", and mostly sharing an appreciation for art, music and a good time. There was very little law enforcement, the security was privately hired, there were almost no rules except for safety, and it was one of the most peaceful and joyful events I have ever been to. I've come to realize that to survive you only need to have food, water, shelter, a few clothes, a place to pee and other stuff, for some a little weed, for us books and music, that's it. We were extremely happy with very little. I was flipping TV channels this morning thinking about this. Why do we need the golf channel, ESPN, CNN, Fox News, blah, blah, blah. Why do we need the mall, Walmart, Target. Arghhhhh, it's making me sick!!!!! Anyway, here is a tiny taste of Bonnaroo............We sat on the shoulder of the interstate for 4 hours waiting to get in. Luckily, we had the harmony Buddha, so it was all good. A light drizzle kept us cool and there was a lot to laugh at going on around us.After you enter the gates and get your car searched for mostly glass and weapons, you proceed to the 700 acre farm and head for the camping area. This is bumper to bumper camping, hope for good neighbors. We literally shared tent stakes with the guys to the left of us. On either side we had a group of college boys who just wanted to smoke a little weed and see some good bands. They were polite, generous and really quiet most of the time. That is our VW van and our screened pop up canopy that saved us from the sun during the day. At Bonnaroo you sleep most of the morning, cook breakfast, eat a light lunch and head for the event tents around 3pm. Then it's non stop bands until 3-4am.We had cloud cover much of the time so the heat was bearable. Hard rain when we got there on Thursday, but that was all. We had great weather the rest of the time.There were vendors roaming around in the camping area selling t-shirts, substances that I shall not talk about and then there was this cute little lady from Japan. We bought some meditation beads that had been blessed with mantras and smelled like sandalwood. Really cool meeting her. She was adorable and totally represents the essence of Bonnaroo. The young woman she is talking to was my little girl. She is quickly turning into this beautiful young lady that I love getting to know! She seemed so grown up this week, even though every now and then you would get a glimpse of the innocent little girl still inside her. It was so great to be at Bonnaroo with her.One of the first bands we saw was Bella Fleck with Toumani Diabate. This was amazing, but we couldn't get very close. Later, he did a small 30 minute acoustic set at the very small Sonic Stage, it was intimate and we were right at the stage. Great show.This was the largest stage. Here we saw Wilco, Bruce Springsteen and Phish. Sunday night during the second Phish show, Springsteen came out and jammed with the band. Unreal.This was a small portion of the crowd that showed up for Phish and Springsteen. I have never seen such a crowd at a concert in my life. And we only saw two people carried out by security.A very cool sod building that was the Bonnaroo Post Office. There were a lot of tents dedicated to sustainable living and environmental concerns.Also lots of vendors selling art, jewelry, clothing and stuff you never need but can't resist at a festival.On the way home we stopped at the Nantahala Outdoor Center for lunch. Those of you in Western NC know this place well I'm sure. Do you remember the NOC of 20 years ago? We used to paddle here all the time, back when there was one little shack to eat at, even before Relia's Garden was built. It was a place for river rats and now it looks like an amusement park for rafting companies. Sad to see, they have lost so much of what made the NOC a truly magical place. Now it's just a tourist destination. Guess they are making a lot more money now.It's still a beautiful place and a nice stop after being with 75,000 people for 5 days. I am now in a crazy funk from living outdoors with a bunch of stoned hippies and listening to music all day and all night. We saw twenty bands in four days including: Phish, MGMT, Animal Collective, Bella Fleck, Bruce Springsteen, David Byrne, Band of Horses, Neko Case, Merle Haggard, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nine Inch Nails, Portugal the Man, Wilco, Of Montreal, and many more. The Troo Music Lounge was one of Wesley's favorites. This tent had small bands with huge talent and it was accessible. I think Wes has come home older and wiser and much less likely to try mind altering substances. It was all about the music for her. I would advise any parent out there with a teenage kid to take them to Bonnaroo if you want to truly get to know each other and have some lifelong unforgettable memories. The parent/child relationship was left at the gate and we spent the week getting to know the adult she is quickly becoming. Hopefully she saw her parents in a little more less than perfect human light as well. Thanks to the people that put Bonnaroo together! If the whole world could function like the community I spent the week with, it would be an amazing place to live. Gerry lost all of the stress that comes with being an AP photographer and was a crazy fool all week, I laughed almost nonstop, and Wes just walked around in stunned amazement at the whole thing. So, next year, get your tickets early and let's all meet at the ROOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, June 8, 2009

I'm heading for Bonnaroo and another kind of mud. Lots of pictures when I get back! I'm not taking a computer, so I'll be back in blog land next week.“let me bathe my soul in colours; let me swallow the sunset and drink the rainbow” kahlil gibran

Saturday, June 6, 2009

It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea,That a maiden lived whom you may know By the name of Annabel Lee; -And this maiden she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and She was a child, In this kingdom by the sea,But we loved with a love that was more than love - I and my Annabel Lee -With a love that the wingéd seraphs of Heaven Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago, In this kingdom by the sea,A wind blew out of a cloud by night Chilling my Annabel Lee;So that her high-born kinsmen came And bore her away from me,To shut her up, in a sepulchre In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven, Went envying her and me;Yes! that was the reason (as all men know, In this kingdom by the sea)That the wind came out of the cloud, chilling And killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love Of those who were older than we - Of many far wiser than we -And neither the angels in Heaven above Nor the demons down under the seaCan ever dissever my soul from the soul Of the beautiful Annabel Lee: -

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;And the stars never rise but I see the bright eyes Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the sideOf my darling, my darling, my life and my bride In her sepulchre there by the sea - In her tomb by the side of the sea.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Today I finally finished this very long project at Woods School. What a fun time I have had with the kids, teachers, principal, everyone that works there! We are so lucky to have a school like this in our community. The totems are now on display at the front entrance to the school.Jim built the boxes for me and we filled them about halfway with concrete then painted themI filled each spacer and each head with spray foam insulation. This stuff is brilliant, it stabilized the heads on the poles and made everything solidThen we had to decide where they were going to go. At first they were to go on the playground, but they are just so nice and Mr. Rentz (on the left) wanted them in the school. First we put them between the two entrance doors, but they were back lit and didn't show up. Then we moved them near the lunch area, but there was so much traffic I don't think they would last too long there. So we finally found a blank wall at the main entrance for them. Perfect! Poor Jim(on the right) helped me so much with this project, I don't know what I would have done without him.TADA! They are soooo awesome. I am extremely proud of these kids.

My good friend Laura Farrow sent this photo to me today. I was so sad to hear of the death of David Carradine. I loved him in the show Kung Fu, my dad and I would watch that show every week, never missing it. Now, Wes and I are obsessed with Kill Bill, brilliant. I always say to Wes, patience grasshopper, I loved that line! What a sad loss, he had such a peace about him that I would love to have, instead of the chaos that I bring into the room.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

We stacked the totem today using some net stands from the PE dept that we borrowed, just to get a sense of how the heads stack. I threw the spacers on the wheel and the students finished painting them today.We are going to make two totems and wonderful Jim Malone is going to build us boxes, sort of like planters with concrete in the bottom and then we will add the poles and stack the animals. That way we can move them around the school and they can visit different areas instead of living on the playground. We are going to build the boxes tomorrow and hopefully finish up this "one week" residency!The students had to research an animal, do a drawing or painting and then create the sculpture. This has been quite an undertaking but what fabulous results!!!Now, if I could just get paid. The history with that over the past six months hasn't been too good. I ask myself why I keep doing this, and then I see results like this. I just wonder if anyone that ever hires me has to continually go to their boss and ask when and if and how much they are going to get paid each week? Doubtful, don't you think?!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

June 1 was my 24th wedding anniversary. We went to the Top of the Hill, our favorite place in Chapel Hill for dinner and their famous blueberry summer beer. You have not lived until you have had a blueberry beer and an Old Well beer from this place. And yes the photos show that I had several!Wes shot this frame. The sun was really strong and we were back lit, so being the daughter of a professional photographer, she used her rose colored glasses as a filter. Brilliant child, that one! I like the mood of this picture, pretty much how I was feeling after the ales. I think we still look pretty good after putting up with each other's craziness for 24 plus years. We met in college when Gerry was a drummer in a band and I was a punk/skater chick from Myrtle Beach.It's been quite a ride. I'm not the easiest person to live with sometimes. Just can't seem to figure out what to do when I grow up and can't seem to figure out how to grow up, ha!